Luis Enrique Martínez is concentrating on the role of the Spanish team in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but in a certain sense he is also looking a little further. The Asturian coach begins to think about what his future will be when the World Cup ends and he has already informed Luis Rubiales, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), of his decision.
Luis Enrique and his end of cycle in the Spanish team
Publicly there has still been no pronouncement on what Luis Enrique will do after the World Cup. Every time he has been asked about the subject, he has limited himself to not answering the journalist or simply making one of the most abrupt exits from him. The explanations are not made present, but already it begins to intuit that Luis Enrique will take a step to the side.
As has been reported in recent days, Luis Enrique has already made the decision to leave the Red when this World Cup ends. The idea, however, is not to do it for a few days, since he wants to reach the final and win it. Putting on the world champion star is the main objective of the Spanish team and also of the Asturian coach.
But Luis Enrique would have already informed Rubiales that he will leave the Spanish team when the World Cup ends. A fairly thoughtful decision that he has to make to start a new phase of his life. However, it is not ruled out that he will be in charge for a few months and that he will play the final of the Nations League to say goodbye definitively.
The fact is that Luis Enrique has a great poster to continue being a coach. The option of Atlético de Madrid has been put on the table, since the Cívitas Metropolitano no longer trust Diego Pablo Simeone. But the figure of Luis Enrique is also very popular in the Premier League and clubs like Manchester United or Chelsea have been chasing him in recent months. And who knows if the option might be PSG and return to being the coach of two old acquaintances such as Leo Messi or Neymar Jr. What seems certain is that in the short term he would not return to Barça, where his friend Xavi Hernández is training.
The alternative to Luis Enrique
And Luis Rubiales and the RFEF have also been working for a long time to find a replacement for Luis Enrique. Many names have sounded, but it seems that the closest to the aspirations of the Spanish national team is Marcelino García Toral. However, there is still a lot of work to be done and nothing is closed yet.
First we will have to see if Spain is still alive in the World Cup in Qatar and if Luis Enrique steps aside when the World Cup dream for the Spanish team ends. What surely he will not lack is work, but the Asturian coach will be the one who will decide his future.